This post wasn’t suppose to happen here. This was suppose to be another On Further Review Oscar edition but I decided the one for this slot was more a comment then a post and as such didn’t belong. To that end I’m going to go off the Oscar board and talk about, briefly, a film that there is a good chance none of you will have seen, will ever see or ever want to see. This is a film that is the very definition of an unseen film.
Children of the Dark is a very bleak, very dark look at the child sex industry in Thailand and South East Asia. A Japanese Thai co production the film has had extremely limited release anywhere, with the film’s uncomfortable subject semi graphic reporting style it’s really not surprising. One of the few pieces I read on the film said that the film hasn’t been able to secure even berths at film festivals because of it. The film did play the New York Asian Film Festival in 2009 which is how I heard of it. I went and tracked it down simply because the film played there since based on my experience all the films they run are worth trying no matter what the subject. As I‘ve said it’s one of the two best programmed festivals I know (the New York International Children’s Film Festival is the other) with all of their films selected because someone on the selection committee actually saw the film and thought it was worth showing. I picked the film up from Yes Asia on VCD because it was relatively cheap and I would be less likely to be upset if I pitched the discs when I was done.
Having seen the film all I can say is I need another shower. Its been two days since I saw it and I’m beyond disturbed. I understand why no one wants to show this, and why no one wants to see it.
The simple story is the film follows a reporter looking into the sex trade and as a result finding out all sorts of truly nasty things. I’ll spare you the details but the film goes into the business and related businesses like organ harvesting. A ball of laughs it’s not.
The film is more talk than action, but through clever editing you get a real sense of what happens to these kids (if you should see this in a theater sit near the aisle since you’ll want to flee the theater during some parts). It’s a warts and all film that really isn’t sensational.
Frankly if it wasn’t so important to shine a light on this terrible industry I wouldn’t mention the film, not because it’s a bad film, simply because it’s so disturbing.
As a film unto itself it’s not a bad film. It suffers from a few cliché’s of the expose genre, and it’s a tad too long at 138 minutes, but for the most part it’s a good film as a film…
…unfortunately the film goes off the rails in the final moments with a sting in the tail ending that undercuts everything that happened before. I won’t go into it, but let me just say that it’s a twist that doesn’t need, nor should it, be there. It turns a heartfelt expose into a pot boiler. It’s an ending that takes some of the edge off.
Is it worth seeing? Probably, but it’s also the sort of film that you’ll need to figure out if you want the images and ideas of the film rattling around in your head for days afterward. I thought I’d be okay, but frankly I shouldn’t have seen it. Any choice you make will be your own. (Me I’m trying to purge the film by writing about it)
For those who want to see the film you’ll have to search it out, as of this writing Yes Asia has it. (Just be sure to check the edition for subtitles since some editions don’t have them)
Children of the Dark is a very bleak, very dark look at the child sex industry in Thailand and South East Asia. A Japanese Thai co production the film has had extremely limited release anywhere, with the film’s uncomfortable subject semi graphic reporting style it’s really not surprising. One of the few pieces I read on the film said that the film hasn’t been able to secure even berths at film festivals because of it. The film did play the New York Asian Film Festival in 2009 which is how I heard of it. I went and tracked it down simply because the film played there since based on my experience all the films they run are worth trying no matter what the subject. As I‘ve said it’s one of the two best programmed festivals I know (the New York International Children’s Film Festival is the other) with all of their films selected because someone on the selection committee actually saw the film and thought it was worth showing. I picked the film up from Yes Asia on VCD because it was relatively cheap and I would be less likely to be upset if I pitched the discs when I was done.
Having seen the film all I can say is I need another shower. Its been two days since I saw it and I’m beyond disturbed. I understand why no one wants to show this, and why no one wants to see it.
The simple story is the film follows a reporter looking into the sex trade and as a result finding out all sorts of truly nasty things. I’ll spare you the details but the film goes into the business and related businesses like organ harvesting. A ball of laughs it’s not.
The film is more talk than action, but through clever editing you get a real sense of what happens to these kids (if you should see this in a theater sit near the aisle since you’ll want to flee the theater during some parts). It’s a warts and all film that really isn’t sensational.
Frankly if it wasn’t so important to shine a light on this terrible industry I wouldn’t mention the film, not because it’s a bad film, simply because it’s so disturbing.
As a film unto itself it’s not a bad film. It suffers from a few cliché’s of the expose genre, and it’s a tad too long at 138 minutes, but for the most part it’s a good film as a film…
…unfortunately the film goes off the rails in the final moments with a sting in the tail ending that undercuts everything that happened before. I won’t go into it, but let me just say that it’s a twist that doesn’t need, nor should it, be there. It turns a heartfelt expose into a pot boiler. It’s an ending that takes some of the edge off.
Is it worth seeing? Probably, but it’s also the sort of film that you’ll need to figure out if you want the images and ideas of the film rattling around in your head for days afterward. I thought I’d be okay, but frankly I shouldn’t have seen it. Any choice you make will be your own. (Me I’m trying to purge the film by writing about it)
For those who want to see the film you’ll have to search it out, as of this writing Yes Asia has it. (Just be sure to check the edition for subtitles since some editions don’t have them)
This film is nothing more than disgusting anti-Japan propaganda.
ReplyDeleteThe elements,details of this cinema are almost fabrications.
I'm posting this because you have a right to say what you feel but would you mind replying with details of why you feel this way? Its all very nice to say this but this is an anti-child sex film- are you saying there is no such thing or are you taking the position its not a bad thing?
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